From modular furniture and pods to integrated tech, flexible layouts and modular furniture are gamechangers for tomorrow’s office—even if it's a small one.

The only thing that stays the same when it comes to the workplace is that everything keeps changing.

That means modular, flexible spaces are in high demand among company leaders trying to appeal to a hybrid workforce, says Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO and broker at Echo Commercial Properties in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“It’s what people are looking for,” he says. “When people do build-outs, there’s some kind of flexibility in there.”

Lichtenstein has even pivoted to more flexible office space for his own firm, which has 110 independent contractors, who, like most people today, work from both home and the office. He put modular spaces into the firm’s Palm Beach Gardens office and may be re-configuring it again now. And in Delray Beach, Florida, Lichtenstein is looking for an office that has a number of small offices versus a big open air office.  Some of these smaller office or flex spaces give people more privacy than a big office, he says.

Flexibility is a design trend

Archi Expo Mag, an online architecture and design publication, suggests that 2026 design will be focused on flexibility, wellness, tech-integration. A glance at new projects in Geneva to Sydney suggests there’s a convergence at play, comprising human-centric design, sustainability and adaptability. 

“Offices are no longer rigid environments,” Noah Redwood, furniture content specialist at New York-based Modern Loft, told Archi Expo. He sees a deliberate shift in the industry towards researching how people use space and then designing products that can evolve to that behavior. 

Think: moveable furniture and acoustic booths. Modular seating that can be re-arranged for casual meetings. Desks and seating built with sustainable materials and integrated charging stations that easily be used for short team collabs but comfortable enough to hang out in for a long period of  focused work. Open-plan floors with enclosed reconfigurable meeting rooms that adjust lighting and temperature based on occupancy. 

“Comfort, creativity and real social exchange are the nonnegotiables,” he says.
 

Integrated tech that can be reconfigured in hours not weeks is becoming a gamechanger in the workplace, says Alex Smith, co-owner of Render3DQuick, also featured in Archi Expo Mag. Up next: personalized climate zones in open-plan offices in which the airflow and temperature can be adjusted by individuals at each workstation.

Small spaces require intention

After the pandemic, more companies shed their office footprint and many of them moved into smaller office spaces. But now that more companies are moving towards more time in the office, especially on peak days, those smaller footprints are being put to the test, says Stephanie Clements, design director and technology practice area leader in the Washington, D.C. office of Gensler, the architecture and design firm. Companies that prioritize flexibility and intentional design, however, are proving that smaller still is impactful, Clements says. 

Companies are being challenged to design smarter, focusing on multifunctional collaboration zones and hospitality-inspired amenities that can shift with evolving needs. “With a focus on flexibility and intentional design, compact offices can still deliver big on experience, productivity, and long-term efficiency,” Clemency says. 

Clemency points to Miami legal services firm Consilio, which designed a new Customer Experience Center in Biscayne Bay, Miami. Its hospitality-styled workspace, dubbed Casa at Coconut Grove, has a gathering area with adaptable furniture that can be used for one-on-one conversations or large-scale presentations. There’s a smaller space for quiet conversations and a larger soundproof boardroom for 20 people. 

“Whether through flexible layouts, multifunctional spaces, or tech-enabled storytelling environments like Casa, the goal is to support the human dynamics that make the workplace matter,” says Clements.

Another Gensler client, Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce firm, dedicated half of its real estate in Washington D.C. to flexible layouts for a dynamic workspace that can accommodate everything from community events to all-hands meetings. 

That in-office community is something many companies are still seeking, years after the pandemic. And flexibility is paramount. 

“It’s the camaraderie part,” says Lichtenstein of Echo Commercial Properties. “Collaboration is just essential. You want that flexibility to bring them into the office.”